Health insurance sign

Health insurance sign-up deadline arrives. 9NEWS at 9 p.m., 3/30/14.

The push is on to get people signed up for health insurance ahead of Monday's federal deadline.

DENVER- Along the 16th Street Mall this weekend, the final push was on to sign people up for a health care plan, before Monday's Affordable Care Act midnight deadline.

'If you don't have insurance and you haven't started an enrollment process, or done anything to begin it, unless you have a very special circumstance, you're not going to be able to buy family or individual plans for 2014,' said Linda Kanamine of Connect for Health Colorado.

Nuam Dim is among the more than 50 people who signed up for health insurance in Downtown Denver on Sunday.

'Every single day I was working, so it was too, too busy and I couldn't make it,' she said. 'I feel so good because now I'm insured with the health insurance, so if anything happens, I'm covered.'

Dim, who is a self-employed sushi chef, expected to wait a while, but said the sign up was quick. Others, though, have had problems accessing the state's website. Connect for Health Colorado said it is working, but may be slow.

'The website is up and running. There is a heavy volume, I'll tell you, so there's lots of options for people, even today, tonight, tomorrow,' Kanamine said, adding that the customer service center would be open until midnight on Monday.

After that midnight deadline, those without health insurance will be charged a penalty fee on their taxes next year: either $95 or one percent of your annual income, whichever is higher.

Some people may still be able to sign up for insurance after the deadline, but only under certain circumstances. Those include changing jobs or moving to another state after the deadline.

How much of a penalty you pay will depend on when you sign up. Connect for Health Colorado said they will work with people past the deadline, as long as they have at least started the process of signing up.

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